Tuesday, August 30, 2016

The Shawnee nation are perhaps the most famous of all Ohio tribes but they weren't the only Native American tribal group in the area. The Great Lakes region were home to many small and large tribal groups with their own dialects and cultures. Each of the tribes had their own creation stories of how their ancestors had arrived in the region in which they lived. Oral stories were passed down from generation to generation. Cultural groups have come and gone in Ohio but they left behind archeaological and cultural evidence of their existence. In order to understand the Native American cultural heritage of Ohio we must go back in time and visit upon the tribes who once dwelt within the Buckeye State. We begin our journey during the Paleoindian Period.

The Paleoindian Period lasted from 13,000 -7,000 B.C, which was towards the end of the Late Pleistocene Period. Paleoindian life revolved around the hunting of the great animals and was greatly affected by the Ice Age. The glaciers killed the plant life which meant the herbivores had to migrate elsewhere. Thus humans and the carnivores had to move with the herds into previously unknown territories. Paleoindian groups were highly mobile. Any given band could consist of anywhere between 20-60 members, all of whom were extended family. Hunting and gathering were done during the spring and summer months when smaller hunting parties left the group. These hunting parties would return during the fall and stay throughout the winter. Their diets varied depending on how successful the hunt was. Their clothes and the covers for their shelters were made of animal skins.

The earliest known Native American group to inhabit Ohio was the Clovis Culture. The Clovis Culture appeared around 11,500 B.C. but didn't inhabit Ohio until between 9500 - 8000 B.C. The northern glaciers retracted, exposing new land for exploration and settlement between 17,500 to 14,500 years ago. The animals and Clovis culture took advantage of the new Ohio lands. During the late 20th century, the predominant theory of human colonization of the Americas had been Clovis First, meaning the Clovis Culture were the first group to inhabit the Americas. But scientists and historians are beginning to question the Clovis First theory.

In 2011, archaeologists at the Buttermilk Creek Complex close to Salado, Texas unearthed an occupation that was proven to be older than Clovis. The Buttermilk Creek Complex isn't the only archaeological site that predates the Clovis Culture. The following are a list of sites that predate the Clovis Culture.

New archeological discoveries and research is starting to shed light on an earlier group of people to inhabit North American known as the Solutreans. The Solutreans were Caucasians tribes that inhabited the Americas. Ohio does not have evidence of this group because at the time of their existence Ohio was under sheets of ice.

Friday, August 26, 2016

This week has been another week of changes for me. My publishing company is growing. As of today, I have eight authors and 15 books slated for release by December 31st. We've only been open since June 27th! I am very impressed with the quality of work our authors have produced and our staff have done. I look forward to seeing ever more from them.

Another great thing has happened for me this week as well. I've had a high fantasy erotica fiction sitting on the shelf for two years. I've posted a few times, over the years, on my blog that I was working on it. I have the story in my head, have plotted it but it's a new genre for me. This week, I teamed up with a new author who writes fantasy. Destiny Blackthorne. My one little story has ended up becoming the beginning of a six book series and the end of that series starts a spinoff. I'm so excited! I'm writing this book at the same time as I'm writing Lies and Deceit. We already have the cover for the first book.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Native Americans first dwelt in Southern Ohio because they could not go further north. Most of Ohio had been covered in glaciers. Once the glaciers retreated back into Canada, the prehistoric Native Americans began to explore the newly transformed Ohio. Mankind had to adapt when the mammoths and other large mammals went extinct. They developed new hunting techniques and weapons that granted them more freedom. These changes began at the start of the Archaic Period. Eventually the Paleoindians disappeared and the Archaic Culture thrived. The lifestyle changes did not happen overnight but had taken several decades for the new to replace the old.

Archaic Ohio
Although the Archaic Native Americans were highly mobile they did establish settlements. Each of the settlements are completely diverse based on the local resources. Ohio, during the Archaic Period, had four different geographic areas that each presented the prehistoric man with a wide range of diverse resources. These areas are seen in this graphic.

With the transition from mobile to a more sedentary lifestyle, Archaic Native Americans developed their own unique cultures based on the area in which they had settled. Eventually, distinctive regional differences emerged. You can learn more about Archaic Geography of Ohio and Archaic Man at this link http://www.academia.edu/632282/The_Ohio_Archaic_A_Review

Villages and Camps

The Archaic people had two different types of camps that they used, larger villages and smaller hunting camps. Villages were established where there was a large food source. Depending on the region where these camps were established, the food source could be fish or nuts. According to archaeologists, Ohio was home to at least ten different distinct cultures through the Archaic Period. These cultures are identified in the graph below taken from The Ohio Archaic: A Review. The time period of their occupation is given on the left side of the graph while they are arranged underneath the region of Ohio in which they were located.

Villages generally contained around 150 - 100 people at any given time. It was here that the Archaic people stayed the longest. Life was still nomadic in that family units moved with the seasons. During the winter, families would leave the village in smaller groups to dwell in rock shelters. These rock shelters were used year after year. The best rock shelters were those that were dry and faced the east. Early and Late smaller camps and rock shelters have been found throughout the state. Not everyone left the village during the winter. The elderly and others who could not travel during the winter often stayed behind in the village and ate from the preserved stock of food that had been gathered for them.

During the Spring, the family units would gather once again in the village. It was here they would supplement their diets with fish, berries, plants and nuts. Fishing required a team effort as the Archaic people used nets, spears, hooks on a line, and perhaps even poison to catch a large number of fish. Spring was the perfect season for the Archaic people to fish in because many types of fish swam up river in order to spawn.

Annual Spring gatherings were a joyous time in the village. Many social and ceremonial gatherings took place in the village.

Monday, August 22, 2016

One of the most asked questions about Autism (Aspergers Syndrome is on the Autism Spectrum) is whether or not it has is a genetic condition. There are many families where more than one people have been diagnosed with a type of Autism.

Scientists have been interested in determining why Autism seems to run in families. A 2011, a study of 226 infants throughout the United States found parents of an Autistic child may produce more Autistic children. Of the families who were studied 8-10% of Autistic children had siblings who had Autism as well. Nineteen percent of these siblings were younger than their brother or sister. The more children a family had the more likely they were to have Autistic children. Gender seems to make a difference as well. Of the families studied, 26% of boys were Autistic compared to 9% girls. The result of the study strongly proved there may be a genetic condition to Autism.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

It has been a long day and an even longer week, if that is possible. The past few months I have spent organizing the men and preparing for the inevitable war with the Shawnee. I know it will only be a matter of time before they should attack our fort yet again. Each day, I wake up wondering if this will be the day or not. The longer I wait the more anxious I become. Thankfully, I have my beloved Rachel by my side. Lord Dunmore has made it quite clear the only females allowed at the station are the underaged daughters of soldiers or their wives. Rachel and I were quickly wed by a local Anglican minister so we could remain together. I am eternally grateful to Lord Dunmore for his ruling. I have been wanting to marry her for sometime but my military duties and station had prevented me from doing so. We are both so delighted to be together that there isn't a night where we don't give into our marital responsibilities.

This morning, Rachel delivered a most disturbing order to me. It seems Lord Dunmore has requested my presence in his office. The order came within a day since I had received a letter from my father. My father has requested that I be transferred to Boston. While I would love Rachel to meet my family, I do not think it would be wise for me to transfer back home. It's only been four years since I ordered my men to shoot into the civilian mob. I was fortunate to escape from punishment for the Boston Massacre but the Sons of Liberty haven't forgotten. The demand that I hang for murder. I am quiet certain, should I return to Boston they will leave my wife a widow. Let us hope to God Lord Dunmore doesn't accept my father's request.

Friday, August 12, 2016

This week has been a week of blessings for my family. It's amazing how small blessings can add up to bigger ones.

The biggest blessing my husband and I received this week came as a big surprise. He was told a few months ago that he had a secondary cataract behind the artificial lens in his left eye and a cataract in his right eye. We've known about the cataract in the right eye for six years. My husband has glaucoma and none of the specialists we have ever seen wanted to remove the cataract in the right eye.

My husband had seen an eye surgeon a month ago. She had recommended that he see a glaucoma
specialist to see if there is anything else that needs to be done. She also said he needed to have surgery to remove both cataracts. My husband has end stage glaucoma. He's had a shunt placed in his left eye and a blub in his right eye. The last doctor we had seen said there was nothing more they could do for my husband. He was declared legally blind in 2010 due to the end stage glaucoma.

Yesterday, we had thought his trip to the glaucoma specialist was going to be futile. My husband has been working with the Texas Department of the Blind. They had told him after they receive the recommendation from the glaucoma specialist that they would schedule his operations. We live three hours south of El Paso, where all the doctors are. My husband and his best friend drove to El Paso while I remained in Marfa. I couldn't leave my work and school. Imagine my surprise when the glaucoma specialist's office called me asking for my husband. I told them he was in their office. They said he had just left and the doctor had arranged for the cataract in the right eye to be removed that very day.

I called my husband. He told me they had removed the cataract in the left eye while he was there and was shocked that they had moved so quickly to have the right eye done. He hung up the phone and went to the surgery center. When he came home, later that night, he told me that the cataract in the right eye had been so large that the medical students were talking about. I am so grateful for the doctors who saw the urgency in the removal of the cataracts. My husband had been anxious and frustrated with all the delays before yesterday. He has a follow up in ten days with an eye doctor that is closer to us.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Welcome back to Ohio's Archaic Heritage. We have walked alongside our ancestors as they had to adapt to the climatic and geographical changes that beset upon them after the glaciers retreated back into Canada. As we learned in the previous posts, humans adapted quite well to their glacial free environment. They not only developed the atlatl and new hunting techniques but also began to settle down into a semi-sedentary lifestyle. Their sedentary lifestyle also lead to social changes that would remain a part of the Native American culture. These cultural changes included the adaptation of animal clans, participation in religious ceremonies, sacred objects, tribal affiliations, and a semi-nomadic lifestyle based on the seasons.

The change from a Paleoindian to Archaic lifestyle did not happen overnight but was a gradual transition that occurred from the Early Archaic period to the Late Archaic period. The first Archaic Native Americans to have dwelt on the Black River Watershed in Ohio arrived on Lake Erie's southern shore around 6,500 years ago. Known as Canesadooharie or River of Many Pearls by the Wyandot Nation, the Black River is a twelve mile long river in Northern Ohio whose mouth meets Lake Erie. It is considered part of Saint Lawrence Watershed and runs to the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Erie, Niagara River, and Lake Ontario. It was this group of Archaic Native Americans that were first to proficiently harvest roots, berries, tubers, leaves, and nuts. They were also the first group to cultivate squash. We will talk later about early cultivation.

Another group of Archaic Native Americans that is very well known in Ohio are the Glacial or Gravel

The Zimmerman Kame Site in Hardin County, Ohio
US PUBLIC DOMAIN

Kame Native Americans. The Glacial Kame Native Americans occupied Ohio between 8000 BC to 1000 BC. Archaeological records show this was a large tribe with villages spanning throughout southern Ontario, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The first Glacial Kame site discovered in Ohio occurred in 1856 near the village of Ridgeway in Hardin County, Ohio. The group was named Glacial Kame because they buried their dead in glacial kames, small hills of gravel, and sand deposited by glaciers. Archaeologists discovered Archaic 380 burials, which they removed from the site. Relics alongside the bodies included heavy copper beads, sole and saucer shaped ornaments of shell, masks made from skulls of wolves and bears and images of birds carved from hard slate. Hardin County has many Archaic Archaeological sites.

One of the most significant changes from Paleoindian to Archaic lifestyles was the burial of the dead. Every Archaic culture had developed their own scared rituals of burying their dead. Where the dead were buried was based on clan, family or social status. The Archaic people chose a specific site to bury their dead and would bring their dead to that site even if it meant it was miles away from where that person had died. Large cemeteries were established throughout Ohio and were used for extended period of time. For example, The University of Toledo archaeologists found 18 burial pits from the Williams site along the Maumee River that had been in use from 850 to 380 B.C. That's nearly 500 years! These cemeteries were often in the form of burial mounds. Burial mounds were constructed by the entire community. We will talk more about burial mounds in our next series: The Moundbuilders.

Monday, August 8, 2016

This can be one of the most stressful times of the year for gifted students and their parents. The Back to School season can be a terrifying experience for gifted students. Anxiety levels increase as they think about the different changes in their lives, will the teacher understand them and will their friends still be there for them. Their summer routines and rituals are disrupted as the school season begins. That can sometimes be hard enough to endure but what happens when the gifted student makes a transition from one school to another?

A simple transition can be an enormous jump for gifted students. What is a parent supposed to do to help their child succeed. Unlike their age peers, intellectually gifted students may need some additional support in order to make the transition simpler. Here are a few things a parents can do to make the experience going from summer to school season go smoother.

1) Find out when the first day of school. A month before the first day of school begin to slowly transition your child into a new routine. Have your child get up and go to bed the same time they would while they are in school.

2) Back to School Shopping. Take your child Back to School shopping with you. Show them the list of supplies their teacher has requested. Let them pick out the supplies and clothes. This gives your child ownership. They will be more than likely to use the items you bought for school if they have a vested interest in them.

3) Arrange a time with the principal for you to take your child to their new school (if they are making a transition). Have your student practice finding their room (s), locker, cafeteria and playground in the order of their school day routine. This practice allows the gifted student the opportunity to accept the new normal routine on the first day of school without have a mental breakdown. If possible, have the student meet their teachers before Meet the Teacher night or the first day of school.

4) Take it slow. Don't overwhelm your student. Take baby steps with them as he or she adjust to the new normal routine.

Back to school time doesn't have to be so stressful for the intellectually gifted student. What other methods do you know about that will help your intellectually gifted child succeed during this crazy period of their lives?

Saturday, August 6, 2016

I see the world my brother dwells in but only grow more concerned for his welfare the more I do so. I'm grateful to the creator, Our Grandmother, to grant me the ability to guide my brother from the spirit world when I am able to do so. The world of my people is slowly being destroyed by the corruption spilled into it from the white man. Wasn't it enough, that my parents had their own problems only to be subjected to even more by the settlers?

I regret the day I died ten years ago. I only wish I was able to protect Little Owl from everything he had endured after my death. Thankfully, I was able to speak to him when he died three years ago. He has cheated death three times and know I learn we will speak again. I have always protected my brother. I love Little Owl more than Blue Lark and Hawk Song. How can I not? We share the same secret.

While I loved being able to speak to him from the spirit world I do not look forward to our next encounter. I am told he has been bitten by a rattlesnake. The venom will kill him. The creator desires I expose the truth to him before his spirit is returned to his body. My heart aches to know he is suffering. He has always suffered because of who he is. But I want my brother to live a great life. I want him to become a strong war chief. I hope my desires for his success are not in vain.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Painting from the Ancient Ohio art series depicting an Archaic base camp along the Maumee River in northwest Ohio.by: Susan A. Walton

Ohio's Moundbuilders pt.1

Introduction

Ohio's Archaic period was a time of transformation culturally, geographically, economically and socially for humans. As we learned in our previous posts, Native American lifestyles became more complex from 8000 BC–1000 BC.

The Woodland Period is a period of Native American Pre-Columbian history that lasted in the Eastern United States from 1000 BC to 1000 AD. The technological advancements that had begun in the Late Archaic Period, such as pottery, continued to develop with each cultural group creating their own distinct art forms. What sets this period apart from the Archaic Period is the Pre-Columbian tribes greater dependence upon agriculture. Agriculture had been discovered during the Late Archaic Period. The discovery of agricultural revolutionized mankind's lifestyle and cultures. We will talk more about agriculture in a later post.

The Woodland Period is broken down into three time periods. Early Woodland (1000–1 BC), Middle Woodland (1–500 AD) and Late Woodland (500–1000 AD). The cultures who lived in the Eastern United States are also known as the Moundbuilders due to the many burial and ceremonial mounds that they constructed. Some of these mounds, such as Serpent Mound, are still visible today yet were more prominent when the white settlers came to the area during the 17-18th centuries. Farmers have destroyed many mounds throughout the centuries. Yet we know they did exist because explorers and surveyors mention the multitudes of mounds that scattered the landscape from Indiana to Florida. We also have archaeological records of the Moundbuilders.

Two cultures flourished in Ohio during the Woodland Period. These being:

Below is a map showing the locations of the Adena and Hopewell Cultures in relation to the Fort Ancient Culture. We will talk more about the Fort Ancient culture in another series, as they are relevant not only to Ohio Pre-Columbian history but to Shawnee culture as well.

The Hopewell and Adena were not the only cultures in the Woodland Period but were prevalent in Ohio. The following map shows the location of some of these cultures in relation to the Ohio Hopewell Culture.